Business Partner of the Year (50+ Employees): Chick-Fil-A of Annapolis, Glen Burnie, & Waugh Chapel (Nominated by AACPS Service Learning & Arundel High) was represented by Joy Hutter, Brian Smith, Wendy Chesshire, Michael Edmonds, Katie McGrath, and Billy McGrath.
For the past 5 years Chick-Fil-A has had an unwavering dedication to the Anne Arundel County Public Schools community. One of the major contributions has been the Chick-Fil-A Leader Academy (CFLA). CFLA is a national leadership program that supports impact through action in high schools. The Chick-Fil-A leadership team worked together with teacher facilitators to plan and implement the CFLA curriculum to ensure success. One of the teachers commented, “Chick-Fil-A Leadership Academy is a well designed program that incorporates students from different walks of life and brings them together for service to the community.” Every year students who are part of the club submit ideas for grants to the company and the groups have been awarded up to $10,000 to turn their ideas into actions. With the funding, students have built sustainable gardens and a variety of other service projects that service their schools & communities. One of the students shared this about Leader Academy, “In my experience this club has really transformed students who are not actively engaged with community service into active participants in the projects that we do. They are really interested, curious, and asking to do more projects.” This program truly empowers students to be changemakers. This year 97 students were able to impact nine non-profit organizations through their projects. Chick-Fil-A’s involvement is one of the examples of how companies can involve our students in community actions & endeavors. The Chick-Fil-A team has shown the students that their age is not a barrier when it comes to change making.
